The heat is on for a Fife chef as he steps into the kitchen for MasterChef: The Professionals on Tuesday.
Chris Niven, who is originally from Dundee, has made it through the quarter finals and into Knockout Week on the popular BBC Two show.
Chris, 34, who is head chef at Printing Press Bar & Kitchen in Edinburgh, is one of 12 contenders remaining from the original 48.
Tuesday will be the first time they have all got together in the MasterChef kitchen for a cook-off.
The quarter finalists will be hoping to impress Gregg Wallace and Michelin-starred Marcus Wareing and Monica Galetti with their challenges.
Among the tests, they will be asked to create a plate of spectacular food from a table groaning with ingredients – but without the aid of modern kitchen gadgets.
Chris, who studied at Dundee College, had been contemplating entering the competition for a while.
“I had been thinking about it for a couple of years, as I know a few of the guys who had done it in previous years and they spoke highly of the experience,” he said.
He has been sworn to secrecy about the outcome but said he was happy with how his first couple of rounds, including the initial skills test, went.
“It was to prepare sweetbreads and I had really good feedback from that,” he added.
Chris, who has been working in kitchens since he was 16, has built up experience across Angus, Tayside and Fife, as well as on the Isle of Skye, including stints at the Old Course, Adamson and Rufflets.
“I have worked with some really good chefs and have learned a lot from all of them,” he said.
One thing he won’t be learning from is his own television appearance – he’ll be at work when the latest instalment is aired on Tuesday.
But Chris, who lives in Burntisland with partner Suzie and their daughter Piper, has his own happy ending in his sights.
Whatever the final result on MasterChef, his eventual aim is to open his own family-run restaurant.
MasterChef: The Professionals, Knockout Week will be broadcast on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 8pm on BBC Two.
